Soul Reaper Hearts
by Shadow Harpy
Summary: Full summary inside. Three thousand years after a catastrophic tragedy, Chris wakes up to find herself in a grave. Yes, a grave. When she meets up with a friend in town and he takes her to the Nightray house, what problems and adventures will arise with this fates meeting. What? She's lost her memories too! How are they going figure anything out without such vital information!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys. So, this is another cross over. I know, another one. Anyway it's about bleach by Kubo Tite and pandora hearts by Jun Mochikuzi. I DON NOT own them. I own only OC's. like always, read and enjoy~

Summary:

Three thousand years after a catastrophic tragedy, Chris wakes up to find herself in a grave. Yes, a grave. When she meets up with a friend in town and he takes her to the Nightray house, what problems and adventures will arise with this fates meeting. What? She's lost her memories too?! How are they going figure anything out without such vital information?!

I know, it probably sucks. Anyway, I'll be throwing in quotes and songs that, again, I do not own. Enjoy.

_'Thoughts and flashbacks'_

**_"Eventual telepathy"_**

**"Certain language"**

The moon in the sky was somehow brighter than before, lighting up the world with its peaceful glow and the stars light. Though, unknown to the sleeping people or those taking a quiet night stroll, it was anything but peaceful. Deep in the forest, inside a mansion long abandoned and forgotten by all, stood a four by four granite stone block that was four feet in height with a large quartz crystal in the shape of a sphere with angel like wings on either side. It seemed peaceful enough. Until a hand suddenly shot out from the ground in front of it. The hand soon extended to an arm that tried to pull itself up, a second hand shooting out and helping to lift the body connected to it. The unknown being dragged them self out of the hole they had dug and proceeded to look around their surroundings with the most extreme fear and pain they had ever felt.

Breathing heavily from the fight to the surface, the being was momentarily blinded by the bright moonlight shining down on them through an opening in the trees of the small clearing. The smell of fresh air instead of dirt filled their nose. Their throat becoming unbearably dry from lack of water and breathing so painfully hard. The simple touch of skin to earth awakening senses that had stopped feeling. The sound of a light wind rustling the leaves of trees and underbrush. As their sight finally adjusted to the brightness, as well as their other senses, the being finally looked towards the granite monument and began to quietly read the words inscribed on the smooth surface:

**HERE LIES CHRISTINE S. NATSUDORI**

**BELOVED FRIEND**

**DAUGHTER AND**

**SISTER**

The being blinked once. Twice. And again. Shock and fear still written on their face. _'What is this? Christine... Is that my name?'_ The being thought fearfully. _'Why... Why can't I remember?... What is this place?!'_ They-she-thought. The girl, still kneeling in front of the monument, was beyond confused, then, suddenly, she had the immense urge to touch the quartz crystal, and began to slowly stand and reach for it. Brushing her fingers against the crystal lightly, it glowed a beautiful shade of pale pink and a messenger bag was pulled out of it. Turning her attention to the hole in the ground, the girl covered it as well as she could before standing and following a path to what looked to be the way out of the forest. Looking around, Christine admired the beautiful garden as she entered what appeared to be a mansion.

She walked into the building to see that it was covered in cobwebs and dust, showing that no one has been living here for years. Words appeared in Christine's head to name the different rooms and objects that she saw, one of which being the foyer, where a large portrait of four people seemed to still hang on the wall at the top of the stairs. Standing in the dark room, she walked up the stairs and to the left of the portrait, down a hallway, and into a room that seemed to be calling her. Entering the room, it was found to be equally covered in dust as the rest of the mansion, so Christine walked to the balcony and opened the doors, causing the wind to rush in and disturb the dust in the room, partially being blown away. She sat on the bed carefully and lied down tiredly, losing herself to the world's lullaby of trees and wind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi~ good morning my friends~ like always, read and enjoy~**

_"Story"_

The next morning, Christine was awoken by the sound of birds and the trees rustling in the wind. She was facing away from the balcony but it was still bright enough for her sight to need to adjust to the sun. Looking around, Christine found that the room wasn't as dusty as the previous night and that the wind must have blown all throughout the room the entire night. The rooms walls were a very light pink, almost white color and the carpet was light blue. Not having an appetite or the need for food at the moment, Christine stood up and began cleaning away the dust and cobwebs in the room. Soon, however, she ended up leaving the room and cleaned the entire mansion the entire day, still not being hungry. _'Maybe it is a side affect from not eating in a long time?'_ She thought curiously as she sat back down on her bed and fell asleep, deciding to go out tomorrow to buy food to stock the pantry and fridge for when her appetite did return, and hopefully find a bookstore as well to add to the library.

The next morning Christine woke with a small yawn and walked over to what she believed was the closet. Everything in the closet was perfectly preserved, not a speck of dust or sign of damage. Currently, she was still wearing the clothes she had woken up in two days ago, which consisted of a simple white tank top, short blue shorts, and no shoes. She had been so interested in the feel of the earth that she had forgotten about wearing shoes. Now, she slipped on a black tank top, purple fleece shirt, black skinny jeans, and black flats. The clothes fit her perfectly as well, and she looked over at her bag before leaving with a wallet that had her name in it as well and walked to town. "Where would the bookstore be?" Christine asked herself quietly as she walked passed some stores. "Excuse me, miss?" A voice called as someone grabbed her arm.

Turning around, she found a boy around the same age as her with short brown hair, out of breath from running after her, maybe? When the boy controlled his breathing, he stood up straight and looked at her with hope, shock, and disbelief in his silver blue eyes. "Um... Uh... Sorry about this. You just resemble my friend, haha." The boy said nervously as Christine stared at him. "What is your name?" She asked suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts. "Huh? Oh! I'm terribly sorry! My name is Justin, Justin Kurusu. What's yours?" Justin asked quickly. "I'm Christine Natsudori. Sorry, but, I don't remember anything from my past except my name and everyday information." She replied shyly and glanced at Justin's hand still on her arm.

Justin looked at Christine with complete and utter shock before breaking out into a wide smile. "You have beautiful eyes, you know that?" Justin said as he let go of her arm. "Have we... Possibly met before?" Christine asked curiously after a slight pause. Shrugging his shoulders, Justin laughed quietly. "It's possible we could have known each other in a past life. Do you need any help?" He asked. Nodding shyly, Justin led Christine to a bookstore, since he was also going there. "Hello Justin, looking for another book?" The store owner called cheerfully to Justin as they passed the counter. "Oh? Is this your girlfriend?" He asked with a teasing smile. Both teens blushed heavily at the statement and denied it. "No! No, she isn't! I just met her. Chris was lost and she's new to the area." Justin explained, Christine nodded quietly again.

Eyeing Christine curiously, the store owner asked a question Justin hoped wouldn't be asked. "What is your name, miss? I am Mark Johnson." "Christine Natsudori." She replied obliviously. _'Natsudori?!'_ Johnson thought in shock. Christine looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, with shoulder blade length light brown hair and blood red ruby eyes. _'A child of misfortune? No. Her eyes are truly filled with confusion and good intent. Though...'_ "You know, there was a woman with the same name as you." He started.

_"At least three millennia ago. The famed Christine Natsudori, who went by the name Summers at the time, because her father changed it. Now, she and her friends were known worldwide for their skills and abilities. However, when they were twenty years old, they were killed. Their greatest enemy wanted to make the Summers family suffer, so he killed all of Christine's friends family, forcing her to watch as he killed them, letting their blood fly before her as she lay broken. The man broke her legs, and chained her arms to the ground with heavy weights. Christine could do nothing except watch, as the only people she ever cared about were taken away from her quickly."_

_"Then, taking the blade of her sword that he had broken and used to kill, carved the shape of her sword guard into her back, laughing at her screams of pain. Before that, her father had been a captain of a special guard, and sacrificed himself to protect Christine and her older brother. Her brother became the next captain, but was killed as well, passing the title on to his sister. Their squad color and symbol were electric blue and a cherry blossom. After that, the man left her to die, which was painfully slow." _Johnson glanced at Justin with serious and apologetic eyes. Christine stood next to him, on the brink of tears from hearing such a sad and terrible story. "However," he began again.

_"One friend who was not in the country returned at the smell of blood. His name was Justin Cruz, a vampire prince, who had incidentally fallen in love with her, a human, and tried to force his blood into his friend's system. But it was too late. Christine had already died from blood loss, and, in anger and pain that he could not protect her, Justin buried her body within the Natsudori mansion, magically sealing her belongings within a quartz crystal. All but her sword remained, he reforged the sword to its original form, and vowed to guard the mansion and his secret love. However, another family recently tried to renovate the mansion for their use, and the vampire prince offered his services to them in exchange for the mansion being intact. _

_After that, he was never heard or seen again, the grave of Christine Sapphire Natsudori remaining hidden for eternity."_ Johnson finished, and glanced sorrowfully at Justin as a pained look appeared in his eyes, making him look older. Christine was now freely crying and shocked to hear the name, much less know that _SHE_ had just _crawled out of a grave_. "Grave? Justin?" Christine turned to Justine with pain filled eyes, shocking him out of his reverie. "Am-am I-" Justin cut her off by placing a finger on her lips. "Would you mind if... You came with me to the place I'm staying?" He asked quietly. Johnson looked at him with wide eyes, seeing him blush in front of any girl was apparently non-existent, but with Christine, it was the rarest sight of all.

Christine was quiet for a while, contemplating the offer. On one hand, she could explore this country more and find more information on her past. On the other hand, she could be accused for taking the name of someone important and be lied to about being a Natsudori. "If... If something happens with my memory... Are you going to help?" She asked nervously, the story repeating in her mind. "The mansion will still be here, right?" She asked. Justin looked up at her and nodded, his gaze hardening at the mention of the mansion. "I swear, it will still be here." He replied. Looking at the book she was holding, "_The Shadow Harpy_". "You know, there's a legend about that story as well." Johnson commented. Justin glared at the man before turning to an interested Christine. "The Shadow Harpy was said to be Christine Summers when she dealt with murderers." He said, instantly making the girl pay him quickly before leaving, followed by Justin. "If you want me to go, we have to back to the mansion first. I need to pack." Christine said as she began walking back. Justin smiled slightly and followed the amnesiac girl.


	3. Chapter 3

Justin stood in the foyer of Natsudori manor with his jaw hanging open. "You mean to tell me... That you cleaned the house by _YOURSELF_, in _ONE DAY_?!" Justin exclaimed in complete shock as he then ran up the stairs and entered Christine's room. He had asked her to pack for two months to stay with him and his friends while the mansions location would remain hidden, as well as the grave. "Are you sure it's alright to leave?" Christine asked worriedly as she went through the closet, choosing clothes to pack for two months. "Yes, it's fine. There are thirteen different barriers around the property. No one could get inside even if the wanted to or found a way, they would hear a voice in their subconscious telling them to turn back, away from danger. Justin Cruz... Was my ancestor. He may have been a vampire but he was killed, I am human. In the depths of my subconscious, I see his memories. His friends, his life... It was all he could have ever wanted." Justin replied, his voice becoming softer with each passing second. "Um, I'm sorry but... We may have to change your name a bit." Justin added sadly.

"Why?" Christine asked curiously. "Well, the Natsudori family isn't technically alive anymore, and you _do_ have their blood flowing through your veins. They had quite a few enemies, and I'd hate to be the reason why you get hurt listening to everyone's remarks." He explained. Christine nodded slowly, deep in thought as she thought of a different name to use. "How about Fuyudori?" She asked curiously. "Winter bird? No, that's to close. How about..."

~2 hours later~

"Justin, there you are! Where've you been?" A boy with shoulder length blonde hair, ice blue eyes, and wearing a formal suit said angrily. Justin had just walked in with a girl and was now being yelled at by someone he knew. "What do you want, Earnest?" Justin asked with slight annoyance. "You were supposed to be back an hour ago. It's bad enough that Elliot has such a difficult servant, now you walk in with a pretty girl I don't know and-" Earnest cut himself off as he looked at the girl again. She had long, beautiful light brown/blonde hair, ruby red eyes, and wire rim glasses. She was wearing a knee length red dress with off the shoulder sleeves, black high heels, a long silver charm bracelet wrapped multiple times on her left wrist, and a black choker with a white rose charm. _'Red eyes?'_ Earnest thought in shock as he looked the girl over.

Noticing the young man's glance was lingering on his companion, Justin cleared his throat to get his attention. "Master Earnest, allow me to introduce Lady Ruby Wolfe. She's a friend of mine who has recently just lost her family in a terrible accident. I hope it is not to much trouble, but I have asked her to stay at the mansion until I can introduce her to the Rainsworths'. Lady Ruby, this is Mater Earnest Nightray, the man I currently serve." Justin explained with a small bow. Earnest glanced at Justin with slight irritation. _'How dare he not introduce me to this girl before! Though, if she is going to stay with the Rainsworth family I must quickly insist that she stay with us for the time being. But, _RED_ eyes! I can't stand them! I hope it doesn't show.'_ He thought before giving a small bow to Ruby.

"It would be my pleasure to invite Lady Ruby to stay with us for the time being." Earnest said politely and motioned for the two to return to the carriage waiting outside. On the way, Ruby, other than apologizing profusely about staying, remained silent, Justin explaining that she was extremely shy and not used to being around strangers. Arriving at the mansion, Earnest led Ruby inside while Justin carried her bags to one of the guest rooms. A man with long blonde hair was walking down the stairs towards the door when they entered and stopped with curiosity in his eyes. One gold left eye the right eye red. "Vincent." Earnest greeted with fake enthusiasm that Ruby saw through completely. _'He's not very good at his poker face._' She thought suspiciously. "This is Miss Ruby Wolfe, a friend of Justin's. She'll be staying with us for two months until Justin can contact the Rainsworth family when they are not at meetings. Ruby, this is Vincent, my adopted brother. Now then-" Before Earnest could continue walking, Ruby had walked up to Vincent to see that he had mismatched eyes of red and gold.

"Wow. You have really nice eyes, Vincent. I hope we can be friends." Ruby said with sincere cheerfulness as Vincent gave her a cautious smile that soon turned sincere when he saw her own red eyes. "I hope so as well. It was nice meeting you Ruby, but I have to go out for awhile. I'll be back later." Vincent replied kindly as Ruby smiled and waved to him before catching up to Earnest, who was scowling the second her back was turned. Vincent smirked triumphantly and left the mansion on a much happier note than when he usually went out on. His sincere and genuine smiles being said to be reserved solely for his older brother Gilbert, Elliot, his younger adoptive brother, and Elliot's valet and friend, Leo. Earnest walked past the door leading to the Nightray gate to the Abyss and stopped when Ruby looked at the door curiously, her eyes full of unease. "Is something wrong, Ruby?" He asked. "No. It's just that... This door, there's something strange about it." She answered nervously before Earnest took her hand and lead her away from the door.

Vincent, who was waiting around the corner for the two to leave, slowly inched his way to the door. There had been something off about the gate for the past few days, and it seemed to have gotten darker in a way. Shaking his head lightly, Vincent turned and went to find his brother, who would no doubt be in his room.

**ooooo. I wonder why she's so uneasy. Like always, dear friends, read and enjoy~**


	4. Chapter 4

The library was, as usual, silent. It's only occupants for the day being Elliot, Leo, and Gilbert. "Brother!" Vincent exclaimed happily as soon as he closed the door. "We have a guest! A friend of Justin's, who will be staying until he is able to contact the Rainsworth dukedom!" He exclaimed cheerfully. Gilbert put his book down and turned to Vincent with immense curiosity. "A friend of Justin's? You're never excited about guests, Vince. What's so special about this one?" He asked. By this time Elliot had stopped mid reach for his favorite book and Leo had looked up for the first time that day since entering the library. "She has red eyes. Also, on my way here, she said the door leading to the gate made her uneasy. She's way different than the other guests, and more interesting. I don't think she knows about the story about children possessing red eyes." Vincent replied, his tone of voice going from excited to nervous to downright worried.

Gilbert noticed his younger brother's shocked silence as well and became concerned. "If she doesn't know about the dangers of having red eyes, she could also be treated badly, right?" Elliot asked worriedly, knowing that his older siblings didn't like Vincent because he had a red eye, but their guest had two complete red eyes, meaning that insults directed at her would be worse. "Master Vincent, where did the guest go, if she isn't with you, and Justin is taking her bags to her room?" Leo spoke, adding to the shocked silence until said blonde visibly paled and his shoulders relaxed. "She followed Earnest to some part of the mansion..." He replied and after another brief silence, the four ran out of the library and down the hall, books completely forgotten as the thought of their guest running away in fear was more important than their fantasy worlds. Just as they stopped at a corner a terrified scream rang thorough the hall towards their left.

Running in that direction they found themselves in the foyer where Earnest, Ruby, and Justin were standing at the bottom of the stairs. Ruby was sitting on the bottom steps clutching her head with her eyes tightly shut in pain. Why shocked them was that Justin was pointing his gun at Earnest, who had a wide smirk on his face. "What's wrong? I merely asked if she knew the story of the Natsudori family. Then I asked about her own family." He stated, no hint of worry or remorse for his questions being heard. "What happened to Ruby's family is none of your business, Earnest. Don't pry into others lives." Justin replied coldly. "I don't need to pry when I have enough proof about our dear guest to know why you brought her here." Earnest said as he then turned a hate filled glare towards Ruby. "Ruby Wolfe doesn't exist. Her eyes may be red, but I've studied enough of the books and records about the Natsudoris' that I know for a fact who she is. The only evidence of this claim being the scar that Christine Natsudori reviewed from her enemy the night she died. There is also the famed ace of spades tattoo that I'd like to see as well." Earnest added.

Ruby opened her eyes slightly to find the next few steps but was met with a swirling black cloud that formed into a sort of black winged creature. It resembled a large black bird, it's feathers and entire body were pitch black like the shadows and wore a dark purple hood that stopped halfway down its body, seeming to merge with the feathers, a large purple eye that was a slight shade lighter was all that could be seen from within the hood besides the beak. A large silver chain encircled its neck, smaller chains dangling from random feathers. A red rose was centered on the chain around its neck along with a red heart, blue spade, green club, and yellow diamond hanging on another silver chain that acted as a sash on the right side of its body. The creature's talons were like sharp blades and also black.

"Why have you summoned me, girl?" The Chain spoke with a deep males voice, making it seem intimidating with his voice. Confusion crossed everyone's faces as they glanced at Ruby, who was the only girl in the room until another, Vanessa Nightray, ran in. She gasped at the sight of the black Chain and watched as it turned towards the still terrified Ruby. "You, with the eyes of a Child of Misfortune. Why have you summoned me?" He clarified, sighing as Justin turned his gun towards it. "What do you mean? Ruby couldn't have possibly summoned you here." He called coldly. "Ruby, hmm? I know she carries another name, one that cannot be said so easily, with her mind in chaos." The Chain stated. "You are trying to remember, but a voice is telling you not to hurt yourself in the process. It is familiar, yet, at the same time, it is not." He mused loudly.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked nervously, her voice trembling slightly. "I am Phoenix. A chain from the Abyss, who you have called without knowing, it seems. Is there something you want to change?" Phoenix asked interestedly, making Vincent, Leo, and Justin flinch. Ruby slowly shook her head as she answered. "I don't know. If there were, I probably wouldn't be able to though." "With my power it could easily be done. If you have to ask, you will never know. If you know, you need only ask*." With that, Phoenix disappeared, more than likely returning to the Abyss. Silence reigned as he vanished completely, the dull ache in Ruby's head fading as well as Earnest turned to glare angrily at her once more. "You summoned that chain! What is your real name, Wolfe!" He demanded as Justin helped her stand, using the stair railing to keep her balance. Beginning to walk up the stairs, Ruby's silence didn't help as made her way to her room and looked through her bag, pulling out one of the locked books.

Justin, Leo, and the Nightray siblings followed her quietly, nervous and worried about what she would do. Ruby put the book aside and began looking through her bag once more with curiosity and sudden determination. Her fingers brushed against something cold that felt like a key so she pulled it out and held it in her hand. It was a silver chain bracelet with eleven different keys attached to it. One key was black with a skull that had a green accented expression, next to it was a normal silver key that had a heart shaped base. Ruby glanced at the lock on the book before turning back to the keys and took hold of a key that resembled a music note, then placed it into the lock and turned the key. The lock opened and Ruby flipped to the first page.

...

**That is a quote from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Why? Because Harry Potter is awesome. Now, on with the story!**


	5. Chapter 5

_'Thoughts'_

After spending days of not knowing what key opened the locked books, Ruby was almost glad that she had unconsciously summoned the black winged chain known as Phoenix. The book turned out to be a diary, and as she quickly read through the pages, voices and places belonging only to the owner of the diary began to appear in Ruby's mind, making her feel comfortably warm. Time passed without anyone realizing it and Ruby read the final entry. Her eyes widened and she promptly slammed the book closed and relocked it. Slipping on the bracelet and locking the door, to which everyone had left to continue their earlier tasks, and walked to the full body mirror that stood next to the wardrobe. Taking out a dress to change into for dinner, Ruby took off her red dress and searched for the two things that would make sense out of the situation with the chain and the information from the diary.

~Ten minutes later~

Justin's mind was full of unease. Ruby had been in her room the entire day reading her book after she found the key to unlock it. _'The only way she could know which key it was was if she remembered.'_ He thought nervously and began pacing in front of Leo, who was waiting with him in the kitchen. "Justin, I'm sure that she'll be there. Relax, you'll wear a hole in the carpet." Leo said nervously as he watched the older boy stop and glance at the door again. Though instead of nervousness, he saw relief and nervousness in the silver blue eyes. "Alright you two, time to go." Hans, Vanessa's valet, said before walking out with the other servants to serve dinner. When Justin entered the dining room he saw that Gilbert and Vincent were there as well, with Ruby sitting across from Vincent at one end of the table, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Glancing further up the table he could see why. Earnest was glaring at her whenever his father turned around while Vanessa and Claude glanced at her curiously. Elliot sat next to Ruby and fiddled with his tie, then turned towards her with curiosity evident on his face. "Ruby, do you like games?" He asked. Startled by the sudden question, Ruby answered after relaxing. "Yes, I do like games. What kind of game did you have in mind?" She asked. "Well, I was wondering if you had any games we could try. If it's alright with you, of course." Elliot stammered. "Hmm..." Ruby hummed thoughtfully before an idea came to her. "Have you ever heard of the game called Ace?" She asked. Justin tensed slightly at the question and looked at Ruby thoughtfully before turning back to his task. "Ace? As in the game from the Natsudori story? The books didn't have any specific instructions on how to play. Do you know them?" Elliot asked excitedly as he ate, giving Leo a happy smile.

"Yes, I do know how to play. The number of people who can play is unlimited as long as you have more than one of the same card. Each person picks randomly and, after showing the other players your card, goes to hide them in a place that resembles the suit of the card. The objective is to find the Ace card-doesn't matter which one, it's still an Ace-and find a King or a Queen. The King and Queen cards will be hidden close to where the game first started, to which someone who is not playing can hide them. One you have both cards, you win." Ruby explained with a smile as she thought of how much fun it would be to play. Earnest scoffed quietly and spoke up as he drank from his glass. "It sounds difficult." "The only difficulty you could have in the game would be to get a paper cut." Ruby retorted as she picked up her glass. Then put it back down as she realized what it was and they finished dinner. Vincent smiled at the look on Earnest's face as Elliot coughed, stifling a laugh at his brother's shock as well. After dinner everyone went straight to bed, exhausted from the days events.

As Ruby was falling asleep, however, Phoenix's words began to appear in her mind once more. _"'If you have to ask, you will never know. If you know, you need only ask.'"_ Those words soon began to tempt her as sleep finally overpowered her senses. The next morning, Elliot was woken by a pounding on his door. _'Who in the right mind...?' _He thought as he groggily got out of bed and opened the door. It was Leo. Normally, Leo would have just knocked once and walked in because it was Elliot's room. His older siblings would have just barged in without knocking and a servant would have left by now. "Leo? What are you doing out here? You know you can come in whenever you want." Elliot said as he rubbed his eyes tiredly, looking back at Leo to see his distressed and tense expression before noticing the people next to him. Earnest was standing by the wall, quietly watching the younger boy as he began to slightly fidget. "Leo, would you mind helping me get ready? Earnest, I'll be out in a minute." Elliot stated and slowly pulled Leo into his room before closing the door and locking it. The two quickly ran around the room gathering Elliot's clothes and dropping his sword onto his bed.

Pulling on a pair of black pants, Elliot proceeded to messily button his white long sleeved shirt before Leo all but slapped his hands away and re-buttoned the shirt while Elliot hastily grabbed his jacket from a chair. "Hey, maybe we should watch Ruby and Justin have a challenge. They seem to know each other pretty well." Elliot suggested as he and Leo walked towards the door. "That all depends on the challenge. But it would be interesting." Leo agreed, opening the door. Earnest fell onto the floor from leaning on the door and watched from his position in the doorway as his little brother and his valet left the room, walking in the direction of their guest's room. "Challenge indeed." Earnest muttered as he stood up and ran after the two. Elliot knocked three times on Ruby's door and watched as it opened to reveal said girl wearing a white long sleeved shirt, a teal knee length pleated skirt, black tights, and black mid calf lace up boots. Her hair was down and she was wearing her glasses as well. "Morning Ruby. So, I-we were wondering," Elliot corrected as Leo elbowed him slightly. "If you would be up for a challenge with Justin. You seem to know each other and must have had some fun challenges and games before he moved here." He finished, clenching and in clenching his hands behind his back nervously.

"It has been a while. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to challenge him again. I'll meet you outside, okay? Our challenges are more... Interesting, in open spaces." Ruby said thoughtfully and went back to retrieve her sky blue ribbon before closing the door. Excited, Elliot dragged Leo towards the foyer, where Justin was busy polishing various swords collected by the Nightrays' over the years. He was wearing black pants, black shoes, a white shirt, black jacket, and a tie. "I know about your plan. Vampire hearing. If we're going outside, then it means we will be using swords. Let's go." Justin said before either boy could open their mouths and picked up two swords: one in a dark blue sheath with a bronze guard of four triangles in the shape of hourglasses and another in pale pink sheath with a bronze guard of a pair of wings. Seeing the two swords made Elliot suspicious ad excited at the same time, so grabbing Leo's wrist once more, he dragged him outside where a crowd had knowingly gathered. Earnest, Claude, Vanessa, Hans, Gilbert, and Vincent, were standing by the mansion while Ruby tied her hair up into a ponytail and looked around.

Justin threw the pink sheathed sword to Ruby, who caught it with ease and stared at the guard in shock. Earnest saw the sword as well and began laughing. "You gave her THAT sword?! No one has been able to use it in centuries, and you think she can?" The older Nightray clutched his sides as he leaned on the stairs leading inside. Vanessa looked worried while Claude seemed interested. Gilbert watched Justin unsheathe his sword and wait patiently for Ruby to do the same, as if expecting this to happen. Vincent watched Ruby carefully, her eyes appeared to become clearer and many different emotions appeared in her red eyes. Reaching towards the hilt, Ruby unsheathed the sword with unhindered ease, the guard seemingly glowing in the sunlight as the blade was pulled out, revealing a sharp, smooth blade. An inscription was on one side in a different language like the stories said. Earnest ceased his laughing and instead gaped in shock. When he had tried to use the sword it wouldn't budge even a centimeter! Over the years it had been in the Nightrays' possession, not a single person had been able to unsheathe it, yet this strange girl could. Ruby's eyes lit up in absolute happiness as she turned to Justin with a confident smirk playing on her lips. "Ready?" The vampire called amusedly.

Tossing the sheathes towards the Nightray siblings, the second they hit the ground, the two opponents were suddenly clashing swords. Their speed matched to the last step, their attacks being blocked and parried with every clang of metal on metal, a full out smile appearing on their faces as they attacked, making Ruby and Justin look almost mad with excitement. Elliot watched the challenge-fight-with unblinking eyes. Ruby was on the same level as Justin, who had completely let go of his sense of caution and was fighting absolutely seriously. It was almost terrifying. The fight ended when both teens had their swords to each others necks, not breathing hard, without breaking a sweat. Unscathed even, all within ten minutes.

Justin had refused to teach him any of his techniques, saying they were dangerous to normal people. _'If that's true, what happened to Ruby? The stories said that only Christine Natsudori and her family were able to use her sword...could Ruby...?'_ Elliot stopped his train of thought as he turned to look at Leo, who was looking back at him with the same realization in mind. Ruby and Justin began laughing at their expressions of shock, clutching their sides and stomachs as they fell to the ground, gasping for air. Gilbert ran a hand through his hair and sighed, Vincent just stood next to his brother and smiled in amusement. Hans remained silent but his shock was evident in his eyes. Once the laughter died down and Ruby and Justin relaxed, they sheathed the swords and went to walk back into the house with Elliot, Leo, Gilbert, and Vincent, leaving the others outside to enjoy the weather and get over their shock.


	6. Chapter 6

_'Thoughts'_

**"Telepathy"**

_Dream_

A week later when everyone had gone to bed, Ruby's dreams were surrounded by nightmares. _Figures once covered in shadow became clearer and and full of color. Voices that were unknown to her before called out her name. Blood pooled at her feet in large quantities, bodies falling left and right. The blood began to create an endless dark red sea, an equally black sky hanging overhead. The sound of bones breaking and screams filled Ruby's ears as she stood rooted in place, fear and horror taking over her. 'Why... Why?' Her thoughts echoed loudly as she tried to cover her ears to block out the loud surroundings. A blood soaked hand then reached towards her, whispering her name.  
"Ruby... Ruby... Chris!" The voice exclaimed._ Ruby awoke in a cold sweat and gasped for air, the smell and sight of blood still fresh in her mind as she managed to stifle a scream in her pillow. '_I'm never going to go back to sleep now. I think I'll take a shower.'_ Ruby thought and untangled her body from the now messy sheets and walked over to the closet. Taking out a black tank top, dark blue capris, and black ballet flats and walked into the adjoining bathroom.

Once there Ruby turned the water on, not bothering to change the freezing temperature before getting into the tub letting her body go numb from the cold water raining down on her. "What are those dreams supposed to mean anyway?" She asked no one in particular, closing her eyes, not expecting a reply when she was alone. **''Are ya sure they even are dreams?''** A distorted female voice echoed in her head. Snapping her eyes open and looking around, Ruby shook her head and closed her eyes once more, relaxing in the cold water. Having finished taking an actual shower and standing in the water for a few more minutes Ruby turned off the water and dried herself off. Her reflection in the mirror was pale, making her look almost like a ghost. Almost. Drying herself off, Ruby wrapped the town around her hair and pulled her clothes on, feeling the warmth from the now cooling air that had settled and warned her clothes slightly. Because she was slightly pale, the blue spade on her waist stood out boldly on her skin, a slightly lighter blue mark running diagonal across it. A sharp knock could be heard from the door as Ruby returned to her room while drying her semi wet hair.

Opening the door revealed Justin-messily dressed-who all but jumped into her room and locked the door, listening to the sound of running feet before turning back to her. His shirt was buttoned halfway and his tie was hanging loosely around his shoulders. His shoe laces were barely tied properly and his hair was a mess. Around Justin's neck was a purple crystal on a silver chain, a silver ring that resembled a bird was also attached to it. Ruby's eyes widened in recognition as the crystal caught the light of the rising sun. "Good morning." Justin stated quietly and quickly began fixing his clothes, hiding the crystal from view with his shirt. "Who are you hiding from?" Ruby asked curiously as she put on her white rose choker and key bracelet. Justin glanced at her briefly before opening the door slightly to look around before doing so all the way. "A certain despicable man who is obsessed with anything relating to the Tragedy of Sablier, the Abyss, and anything relating to the Natsudori family. Meaning me, a vampire." He whispered and led her towards the parlor where Elliot and the others were waiting.

As Ruby moved to sit down Justin grabbed her wrist, wanting to ask her something, but stopped short when he felt how cold she was. "Ruby-WHAT THE HELL?! You're freezing!" He screamed before taking off his jacket and throwing it around her shoulders then picked her up and carried her to one of the couches. Ruby let out a surprised gasp and clutched the boy's jacket tightly. "What did you do, sit outside all night?!" Justin demanded and began checking Ruby's temperature, pulse, and throat. "Why would you be outside the entire night? It gets pretty cold outside, especially with winter just around the corner." Elliot stated worriedly. "I'm fine. Really. I didn't go outside." Ruby said as she pouted slightly. "Then why are you cold?" Vincent asked. "I didn't sleep well so I took a cold shower to clear my head. I must have lost track of time. I'm not even cold." Ruby replied and pushed Justin's hand away from her head. Everyone looked at her incredulously, thinking the same thing: _'How is she not sick right now?'_ Dropping all formalities that he knew and had learned throughout the years, Justin sat down next to Ruby and pulled her into a tight hug.

Ruby let out another surprised gasp and tensed at the close contact. "You really are freezing. You've been alone for such a long time that now you can't remember how to act around others." Justin stated quietly as Ruby's eyes slightly darkened and she tried to pull away, but Justin's grip only tightened. "I'm sorry. I left you alone. What's worse I was the one who buried you when you died. I took your sword." "Justin... Stop..." Ruby whispered hesitantly as her shoulders slowly began to relax. "No. What i'm saying will hurt you but you need to know! Your body just isn't used to the elements yet because you've been dead for the past three thousand years. That story I told you, everything I said is true. I'm really sorry." Justin whispered. Ruby felt her body warm up the more Justin held on to her and closed her eyes to prevent the headache from forming in her head and continue her nightmare interrupted sleep. Soon her breathing slowed to a calm rhythm and her body relaxed completely, falling asleep in Justin's arms. For a moment he panicked, thinking that something had happened to her, before realizing that Ruby had just fallen asleep.

"Are you serious?" Elliot asked, shocked. Vincent stared at Ruby with curious interest, wondering if the stories about were true. When he asked Justin, he and Gilbert were told of his adventures and friends, who were like family and more to him. Leo was to shocked to speak and simply sat next to Elliot, gaping like a fish out if water as well.  
"Those stories you told us when we were kids... Ruby-Christine-" Elliot corrected himself. "-you really did give her your blood?" He asked curiously and looked at the sleeping girl with curiosity. Justin sighed as he laid Christine on her side before tuning back to the three boys across from him. "Yes, I did. I gave Chris my blood before she died, but I was too late. She died in my arms. I buried her within the Natsudori mansion grounds, sealed her belongings in the headstone, made numerous barriers around the property, and took her sword. I made her fight with it to see how she would react."

"And she reacted exactly the way you thought she would." Leo stated with amazement in his voice. "Yeah. Her sword is what is known as a Zanpakutō. A sword born directly from your sword and your desire and will to protect your friends and family." Justin explained. Elliot was about to ask another question when the door suddenly slammed open, startling them, and clicking loudly as someone entered. Justin looked at the man with red hair and gray eyes with slight horror in his eyes. He had forgotten he was in the mansion. "Isla Yura!"


	7. Chapter 7

Isla Yura walked into the room as if he lived there and practically squealed with joy like a schoolgirl in love at the sight of Justin. "Justin! I have finally found you! Oh? Is this girl the guest I've been hearing about?" He asked in excitement. Ruby stirred at the noise and sleepily turned over to face the couch, her back to everyone. Isla Yura began to laugh and Ruby's breathing changed, signaling that she was awake. "Whoever is talking should shut up." She mumbled and began to resume her dream. Justin, thinking fast, quickly grabbed a cup and pouted the still hot tea he had brought in earlier and turned to Ruby. "Time to wake up now, young miss." He sad with a slight smile. "No." Ruby replied with a slight flinch at being called young miss. "But you've been asleep for awhile now. You have to wake up if you want to go into town. Lady Ruby." Justin stated while emphasizing on the word lady and watching as said girl abruptly sit up and take the tea from him, glaring.

She was about to comment on the time when she noticed Isla Yura staring at her with wide awe filled eyes. "It's only been a few minutes. Who is he?" She asked instead and hid her eyes behind her bangs carefully, having forgotten her glasses in her room. "Aaaahhhhhhh!" Isla Yura screamed in shock, startling everyone as they had previously sat in silence. "What is it?!" They asked. Yura slowly lifted his arm and pointed at Ruby shakily. "It's you... It's Christine Natsudori!" He squealed in excitement, making Ruby choke. "I know all about her! I've studied all the reports and information in Pandora Headquarter's library! They had a picture in her file, your eyes are different but other than that, you're exactly the same!" A look of absolute shock and terror appeared on Ruby's face as she turned her head towards the fireplace, sending Elliot, Leo, and Vincent a glance for help. "Mr. Yura, perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere else." Vincent suggested with a fake smile as he stood and walked to the door with Isla Yura, who turned and ran back to the red eyed girl. "Your eyes are such a dazzling red, like Vincent's. However, yours are much darker. The eyes of a child of misfortune! Has anything bad happened around you?! Have you come into contact with the Abyss yet?! Tell me... All about it!" Isla Yura was inches away from Ruby's face, his hands on her face, with an excited smile as he stared into her eyes.

Justin and Vincent froze. They didn't know what to do when hearing those words, it brought back terrible memories for both of them. Vincent had flinched slightly because Isla Yura's words reminded him of someone who had said almost the exact same thing when he was a child. Justin was racking his brain for an excuse, he could always erase his memories of ever having met Ruby, but they would always end up meeting and the conversation would be repeated. Justin's eyes started to glow red and he let out an animalistic growl at how close Isla was to his friend. Elliot and Leo also didn't know what to do. Leo didn't want Elliot to be in the same room with the crazed man and Elliot didn't want him anywhere near his friends or adopted brothers. However, something was keeping him on his seat, perhaps Isla Yura's words had affected the two in some way as well. Hearing those words made something in Ruby snap. Her gaze hardened and a frown appeared on her lips. "Shut up." She said calmly and pushed him away. "I utterly despise those who talk about death so casually. As though it were mere conversation. I won't deny that I am a Natsudori, though my name is Ruby Wolfe." Ruby said as calm anger took the place of shock.

"If you have to ask, you'll never know. Meaning that if you have to ask me I will never say a word about my past. You have just insulted someone you shouldn't have." Ruby's voice slowly got quieter until it became ominous and she moved the left side of the jacket still on her shoulders. "That chain I called. I did not make a contract with him. I simply summoned him in my confusion, so that seal or incuse I've read about has not appeared. His offer, however, has now become very tempting." Ruby said thoughtfully. Justin tensed and stood, forcefully dragging Isla Yura out the door and personally escorting him to Duke Nightray with Vincent. Elliot and Leo were called away by another servant, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts. When the door closed and the last of the sound of footsteps disappeared, Ruby sighed heavily and leaned back onto the couch, a slight breeze appearing on the other side of the room. A black cloud formed as Phoenix materialized once again. "You again I see. Do you have an answer?" Phoenix asked curiously. "No, sorry." She sighed.

"Then, perhaps you should know that next time, you could be on the brink of insanity. Be careful, I sense your is becoming uneasy." And with that, Phoenix left, leaving Ruby in silence once more before she too left the room, taking Justin's jacket with her. Over the next few weeks Earnest and Isla Yura bombarded Ruby with questions and demands throughout her stay. Elliot, Leo, Vincent, and Justin were becoming annoyed with every passing day while Ruby was becoming increasingly irritated. The day before the second month, Ruby had escaped her interrogators to the music room, which was empty since Elliot and Leo were in the library that day. The two places where they could have a conversation without being interrupted. Walking to the piano, Ruby say down on the bench and placed her fingers on the keys. A soft and soothing melody soon sounded throughout the room and time seemed to fly as she played song after song. Once night fell Ruby returned to her room and changed into a violet dress that went to her knees and had off the shoulder straps.

Violet heels with lighter purple bows on the thin straps around her ankles were slipped on and she turned to leave but stopped halfway through the door. Ruby turned to where she had placed the sword from her and Justin's fight and ran over to it, racking her memories of how she once used it. The guard seemed to glow faintly and, after brushing her fingers across the smooth surface, watched in shock and awe as the sword began to shrink and somehow merge with the guard, becoming a normal looking hair clip. It was now pale pink in color and reminded her of the monument in the Natsudori mansion only smaller-a sphere like crystal with chibi angel like wings on either side. At the dining room, Ruby cautiously peeked into the room to find that the interrogators were not there yet, and carefully walked inside to sit across from Vincent, who had just returned from visiting Gilbert at the Rainsworth mansion and was sitting next to Elliot. Justin smiled softly when he saw the winged hair clip in Ruby's hair and proceeded to serve the Nightrays' silently. "You have returned at last!" A voice exclaimed. Isla Yura sat down next to Ruby and proceeded to question her with a vengeance since she had been avoiding him the entire month.

"Do you know about a man named Eric Natsudori?" That question got her attention, and everyone stopped to listen. "Isn't he Christine's older brother?" Elliot asked curiously. "Yes. The report said that he was killed while protecting his sister from being shot to death. It also says that the bone of his right arm was shattered! What a story this is, I could turn it into a wonderful play!" When Isla Yura began laughing on delight, a murderous aura beside him began to radiate off of Ruby's silent form. Earnest watched as the red eyed girl slowly clenched her fists tighter and tighter in an attempt to dispel her growing rage. Vincent slowly stood from his seat and carefully pulled Elliot from his seat as well, leading him further up the table towards Vanessa. "You shouldn't say those things, Mr. Yura. Have you forgotten the warning given to you weeks ago?" Vincent asked slightly nervous as he pulled out a file and tossed it in front of the girl beside him. Ruby eyed it warily before opening it. "Ruby, stop!" Justin yelled as he realized what file it was: a file containing pictures and a report of the Natsudori murders. The sight reminded her of the nightmares, to which she realized they were memories. Standing, the file was thrown violently into the fireplace, which immediately grew in size, and forced everyone into a state of shock as Ruby let them all burn before running out if the mansion quickly.


	8. Chapter 8

Ruby ran into the city of Reveille. An image of a girl with blood soaked sky blue hair and unseeing vacant dark blue eyes flashing in her mind, followed by a memory of the same girl laughing happily, alive. _'Hikari...!'_ She ran until she couldn't anymore and dropped to her knees by the river. The moon was shining brightly and full, reflecting off the tears that slowly slipped passed her eyes and fell onto the ground. Another image, this one of a boy with onyx purple hair, his right arm broken and covered in blood. Another memory of the boy laughing and playing with a younger girl echoed through her mind. Ruby continued to cry as the black cloud of Phoenix appeared once more and watched her silently. "Phoenix... Ah. I summoned you again." Ruby whispered sadly as she stared at the flowing water a few feet away from her. "You have indeed. Is this really what you want?" Phoenix asked curiously as Ruby took off her choker and cut the palm of her hand so that her blood was soaked into the white rose. "Yes. My name... Is Christine Natsudori... Phoenix, make a contract with me!" Saying this she threw the choker up to him and watched as Phoenix's blood soaked into the choker as well, turning it a dark blood red.

Phoenix floated to the ground until he was now kneeling in front of Christine in his human form, and kissed her gently to give her some of his blood, then took her blood from the still fresh cut on her palm. "You know, we just made two different contracts. But seeing as how you're different from them, it won't affect you as it does with the others. Your memories are truly interesting." Phoenix chuckled, his voice changing to sound like that of a sixteen year old. He wore a black long sleeved shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a dark purple jacket with his hood down, it had short sleeves so you could see his black shirt. Phoenix had short pitch black hair with a barely noticeable blue streak on his left side, his eyes were the same shade of purple as his chain form.

"Chris," He started, drawing her attention away from his true form as he placed her choker back around her neck. "even though I have to call you Ruby, I'm still going to call you Chris when no one's listening." He said and turned at the sound of footsteps to see a man with shoulder length white hair and a visible red eye. A doll was sitting on his shoulder and he was wearing a black and white coat with gold fastenings. He looked Phoenix directly in the eye before turning his gaze to Christine. He then smiled reassuringly and turned to inform his companion that there was nothing there. He then left after handing the younger boy an envelope. "Come on Chris, let's head back now." Phoenix tucked the letter into his pocket and noticed that Christine had fallen asleep. Smirking, he picked her up bridal style and made his way to the Nightray mansion.

~Back at the Nightrays'~

Justin watched helplessly as Christine burned the file and ran off. "That crazy girl! She burned the whole thing!" Earnest exclaimed when he attempted to retrieve the file to find it had already been turned to ashes. Elliot stared speechlessly and turned to leave the room, stopping in the doorway. "It's because you insulted her and brought up painful memories. Ruby was angry enough to have destroyed something, and she left instead." He said sadly and left. Vincent glared at his older adoptive brothers. They were angry about a _file_. Vanessa had already gone to her room in anger that her brother would even think about showing a young girl such gruesome scenes. Isla Yura, for once in his visit, remained silent. Justin left and angrily slammed the door of his room closed before falling into his bed. He couldn't bring himself to look for Christine after all the rage and pain he saw in here eyes as she left.

He also didn't want to leave her alone, and was torn about where he should be. Suddenly a sharp pain appeared in his throat, and he quickly rolled over to his nightstand to grab a black box with red designs. He opened it and practically dumped all of its contents into his mouth, the tablets breaking and becoming a liquid similar to blood as he chewed on them. The pain subsided and he fell into a restless sleep. Leo had gone with Elliot to his room and the two were now discussing Ruby's behavior. "What if she doesn't come back Leo?" Elliot asked worriedly. "I'm sure she will Elliot. I mean, she also left her belongings here, so she has to come back for those too." Leo replied nervously as he stared out the window. It had been awhile since Ruby left, and there were only a few hours left until morning. "Just go to sleep, Elliot. I'm sure that she'll be back when we wake up." Leo added with a soft smile as he went back to his own room.

~Morning~

Sunlight filled the room as birds began chirping with the rising sun. Ruby opened her eyes tiredly and looked around the room. Something next to her shifted slightly, and turning her head revealed it to be a sleeping Phoenix. His hood was covering his eyes, effectively blocking the early morning. Rubbing her eyes Ruby got out of bed-she assumed that the boy had really taken her back to the mansion-and opened the closet to take out a white long sleeved shirt, black leggings, brown lace up boots, and her hair clip. Quietly walking into the bathroom, Ruby turned on the water and took a short bath. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she saw that the white rose of her choker was now a deep blood red, and from the books she had read, found no seal on her chest. After redressing and entering her room, Ruby found that Phoenix was still asleep.

Fixing her hair clip, Ruby walked over to the sleeping boy and woke him up, to which he yawned and smiled cheerfully back at her. "Good morning." He said as he stood up and stretched. "Sorry that you had to carry me back." Ruby said quietly as she motioned to the door to get breakfast. Phoenix shrugged as he replied. "It's not your fault. You ran all the way to the city and cried about that girl from the picture. I just want to know who that other guy was." Phoenix added as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Ruby nodded in agreement, vaguely remembering seeing a man wearing some kind of uniform helping them not get into trouble. As the two slowly entered the dining room they were surprised to see that almost everyone was there-besides Duke Nightray, who was at a meeting at Pandora HQ. Elliot perked up from his boredom when the two entered, smiling in relief as Ruby had indeed come back like Leo said. Vincent noticed as well and smiled happily while Vanessa ran over and hugged her tightly. "You're back! We were so worried when you ran off. Hm? Who's this?" Vanessa asked curiously as she turned her attention to Phoenix, who had remained silent until now, content with just watching.

"Ummm..." "My name is Akira. I'm a friend of Ruby's. Nice to meet you." Phoenix answered in a monotone voice as he leaned on the wall. "Nice to meet you. Im Vanessa. You can sit next to Ruby over here." Vanessa replied as she dragged said girl to the table and motioned to the seat on Ruby's left. Phoenix sat down with a quiet thanks and glared as Isla Yura walked in, squealing like a girl again as he saw Ruby. Before he could speak however, Elliot gladly interrupted him. "So Ruby, would you like to play a game later?" He asked excitedly. "Sure. How about we play Four Kings in a Corner?" Ruby suggested happily. Elliot's eyes lit up at thought and he nodded vigorously, practically inhaling his breakfast in order to play. After breakfast Elliot dragged Ruby and Phoenix-sorry, Akira-to the library where Leo was sitting by the bookshelf as usual, reading. "Hello Ruby. Who's your friend?" Leo greeted them cheerfully as usual, closing his book and standing to sit next to the three. "My name is Akira. Nice to meet you." Akira answered in his monotone voice as he looked at the books around him.

"I'm Leo. Nice to meet you too." Leo replied and helped Ruby shuffle the cards. Halfway through the game, the door burst open, and the cards were blown onto the floor by the force. Four angry teens turned to the door. Then stood and immediately began running out as Isla Yura danced in. They ran to Justin's room, who had yet to appear that morning, and locked the door. A shocked Justin jolted out of bed and took a defensive stance, before relaxing and noticing that Elliot, Leo, Ruby, and Akira were in his room. The sound if footsteps thundered passed and he stretched before sitting back down. "Welcome back, Chris. I heard from here, you're name is Akira?" He asked the unfamiliar boy, who nodded. "You're Justin? Nice to meet you." Akira replied, Justin nodding in response. "I'll be right back. Also, do you want to go to the city?" He asked as he grabbed a change of clothes. Nodding Justin advised Elliot and Leo to change into something more casual before disappearing into the bathroom. The two boys left quickly and Ruby sat on the bed while Akira leaned on the wall.

After a few minutes Justin returned wearing a white long sleeved shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Elliot and Leo came in as well, but with faces of disappointment. All of them had to go to the Rainsworth mansion, so they-Elliot, Leo, and Justin. Ruby just had to put on a coat- changed their clothes and met everyone outside. Earnest, Justin, Elliot, and Leo got into one carriage, and Ruby and Akira into another. Earnest seemed determined to keep the two away from Justin as they were very close friends. Isla Yura had gone to Pandora HQ earlier that morning while they were getting ready, so they didn't have to deal with unnecessary questions. However, because the two were alone in the carriage, they couldn't talk to Justin about Pandora's organization or what happens to contractors when they meet a chain. "Hey Phoenix? Is your name really Akira? What are your abilities as a chain?" Ruby asked curiously. Akira laid down on the seat across from Ruby and answered while watching the scenery from the window in the door.

"Yeah. Everyone just calls me Shadow Phoenix because, in color and ability, I am different from the Phoenix' in stories. I can negate and destroy anything relating to the Abyss and all evil, an ability that is the same as another chain I know and different. I can summon chains to restrain my opponent, fly of course, change my size... Read minds and see memories through eye contract... Hide in people's shadows..." Akira trailed off into awkward silence, watching as Ruby nodded quietly and watched the trees pass by. When they arrived at the Rainsworth mansion Ruby woke Akira from his sleep and followed after Elliot and Leo inside. A man with short white hair and a visible right red eye wearing a purple shirt, a long white coat, black pants with white boots walked up to them and bowed politely before leading the way to the parlor. Ruby and Akira watched him curiously and were slightly startled when he spoke first. "I'm glad to see you're alright, miss. It's dangerous to be wandering around at night. At least your friend was with you. My name is Xerxes Break." Break said cheerfully as they entered the parlor to find two young girls drinking tea as Break walked over to the table.

"Milady~ I have brought our guests~" Break said in a sing song voice as he happily skipped the rest of the way to one girl wearing a dark pink dress. "Thank you Break. Hello everyone. Sorry for asking you here on such short notice." The girl said with a cheerful smile. "It's no trouble at all, lady Sharon. Why are we here though?" Earnest asked as Break eyed Ruby and Akira with interest. "I actually wanted to see Justin and his two friends. But it's so nice of you to come visit. This way we can discuss a few reports." Sharon explained shyly. Turning to her friend, Sharon introduced everyone. "I am Sharon Rainsworth, this is Kisa, she's a friend of mine who helps Break with his missions for Pandora." Kisa has shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing a yellow short sleeved shirt, white skirt that went a little past her knees, and brown lace up boots. Kisa waved happily and jumped up from her seat to talk to Ruby.

"Hi, you must be Ruby. I've heard so much about you." Kisa said. "Yes, I am. This is Akira. Nice to meet you." Ruby replied as Kisa began to drag her to the table. Akira followed quietly and sat down beside Ruby, earning a raised eyebrow from Justin, who sat next to him. Nudging Akira discreetly, Justin looked him directly in the eye and knew he would understand. Akira's eyes widened slightly and he turned back to the conversation at hand, which was about Ruby staying with the Rainsworths' for the second month of her stay instead of the Nightrays'. Apparently Earnest was trying a little too hard. "What do you think Ruby?" Kisa turned her attention to a nervous Ruby, who was looking down sadly. "Well, I had intended to return to my house for a while. To take care of a few errands while there. I'll come back!" She said hurriedly when Sharon and Kisa looked sad to hear she was leaving for awhile. "I already repacked your bags before we left the mansion. They should be in a third carriage that rode in between us. We only to need to visit your house to exchange your clothes for different ones." Justin stated as Break began to laugh. "Would it be alright if we went now Ruby?" Kisa asked excitedly. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, Ruby sighed, nodded and lead the group back outside.

...H...E...L...L...O...M...I...N...N...A...S...A...N...


	9. Chapter 9

As everyone filed into the carriages-Ruby's luggage being secured to one of them-Break suggested that he ride in front with the driver while Sharon, Kisa, Ruby, and Akira ride in the carriage, Earnest, Justin, Elliot, and Leo riding in the other. When they reached the forest, the horses stopped and began neighing loudly. "What happened?" Elliot asked curiously as they stepped out if the carriages. Ruby turned to the driver and asked him to help unload her bags, to which he did confusedly. "Sorry, but I'm afraid that the horses don't know the way to the house, so we'll be walking from here." Ruby said nervously as she lead the way down the road. "Why don't they know where it is? More importantly, why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Earnest asked angrily as he followed after the red eyed girl. Ruby, Akira, and Justin turned to him and said at the same time: "They sensed magic in the area." And continued walking.

Break perked up interestedly at their statement and looked around, indeed finding a magical presence protecting the area. "Is your house hidden by the magic and people need some kind of invitation in order to find it?" Kisa asked curiously as they began to enter what looked to be the front of the house. "Yes. Someone put up protective barriers to prevent people who did not originally live here out. You can only enter if have been invited, and as such, you do not have the ability to invite others to the house." Ruby explained as she unlocked the door and allowed everyone inside. As she locked the door, a shocked gasp was heard throughout the group besides Justin and Akira. Ruby lived there, Justin had already been there countless times before, and Akira had seen Ruby's memories, and was still awestruck at the noble feeling the place gave off. "Is that... A portrait of the Natsudori family?" Sharon breathed as she stared at the portrait at the top if the stairs. Needing an excuse, Ruby said the first thing that came to mind before anyone could question why it was there. "The truth is, I'm a descendant of the Natsudori family. Their blood runs through my veins. A distant relative if you will. I didn't want to bring it up after... An interesting encounter this past month." She said in a shy voice and led her friends up the stairs. Break stared at the four people in the portrait.

From what he could see, the father had deep amethyst colored eyes, the mother had deep sapphire blue eyes, the son had amethyst eyes that seemed to be almost blue violet, and the daughter had amethyst eyes that appeared to be red violet. In short, the boy's eyes were slightly more blue while the girl's were slightly more red. "Miss Ruby, if you are related to them in some way, why are your eyes red?" Break asked out of pure curiosity, sending an interested look her way while ignoring Sharon's and Kisa's glares for his question. "The Natsudori family has a history of having both red and blue eyes. Sometimes red is the stronger trait, while blue tends to be second and vice versa. Most of the time however, the two will combine to the amethyst color." Ruby explained with a small smile. "So that's basically why the Natsudoris' are so well known for having amethyst eyes. Did you live here by yourself when that happened?" Kisa asked worriedly as they walked down the hall towards Ruby's room.

Shrugging with an amused smile, she turned and answered with a simple yes before opening a door. The room had light pink walls and light blue carpet. A canopy bed with red curtains was on the far right against the wall, a nightstand on either side. Crystals hung from the ceiling on transparent string, casting rainbows and glowing when the light hit them. There was a couch and a few chairs with a large coffee table on the left, next to then were two bookshelves full of books. "Welcome to my room! Please have a seat, feel free to look at the books if you want." Ruby stated as she walked to her closet and walked inside, Sharon and Kisa quietly following her and closing the door. A surprised yell sounded from behind the door and the boys (wisely) explored the bookshelves. Akira walked over to the bed and laid down with a tired sigh, Justin watching him closely.

~With the girls~

Kisa walked up behind Ruby and poke her sides, earning a surprised scream. Laughing, the green eyed girl clutched her own sides and tried to calm her breathing. Sharon chuckled quietly and looked around Ruby's closet, immediately going to the more fashionable styles and putting together different outfits. Mostly dresses. "Kisa! Don't do that!" Ruby exclaimed as Kisa slowly began to calm down and also looked through her clothes. "Ruby, you need to wear the dresses more often. I doubt that you will be able to get away with wearing such short skirts the next time you go out. Try this one on!" Sharon held up a dark blue dress with a light blue ribbon around the waist. The only problem: the back was open. "Um, I don't know. It's a bit too... Open for my tastes." Ruby replied with nervousness hidden underneath mock embarrassment. "Go try this one! No arguing!" Kisa exclaimed as she shoved a dress into the girl's arms and shoved her behind a changing screen. The dress was light purple with even lighter lace, and like the first, was open backed, but not all the way. It still made Ruby nervous, so she kept her hair down and removed her coat, setting it aside and changing into the dress.

When she checked in a full body mirror that was on her side of the screen, Ruby was relieved to see that her hair hid back from view, and was careful when stepping out. Sometime when Ruby was changing, Break had been called in to give another opinion, and was surprised to find that she had actually put on the dress. "Wow, you look wonderful Ruby! Now then, try this one." Sharon tossed Ruby another dress and made her change again before turning back to Break. "She doesn't appear to have a seal. But she seemed nervous about the first dress I showed her." Sharon whispered to Break and Kisa as they stood close to the door.

Kisa nodded in agreement, noting how Ruby seemed to be fixing her hair whenever she stopped moving. "I really don't want to do this to her. She can't remember her past, and when she does, she's in a lot of pain. Justin doesn't know what to do when that happens." She stated worriedly and gave Sharon a sad frown. Break turned his attention to the screen and watched as Ruby appeared wearing a red dress with pink lace. Not waiting for comments, Ruby turned back to the screen and began to change. Sharon nodded quietly to Break and led Kisa, who was still feeling bad about what would happen, back into Ruby's bedroom. When the boys looked in their direction, Sharon simply explained that Break wanted to talk to Ruby about the chain that had been appearing lately.

~Break and Ruby~

When Sharon and Kisa left Break walked over to where Ruby was standing behind the screen, about to change her clothes, and cleared his throat. Ruby tensed and turned around, but not before Break could grab hold of her arm and move her hair over her shoulder. The dress didn't cover her back entirely and Break was able to see the one thing he needed to prove his theory. A circle with angel-like wings on either side was carved into her back, the scar itself looked painful just by seeing it. Break's eyes widened further in shock when Ruby wrenched her arm from his grip and pushed him roughly away, hitting the wall in the process. Ruby turned her head to the mirror and gasped as a sharp pain exploded in her head, images flashing through her mind quickly on specific people.

She collapsed to her knees but back a whimper of pain as voices and screams rang in her ears, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Break blinked and slowly lowered himself to the floor so he was sitting next to Ruby, a very sad look appearing on his face without his usual small smile. "Ruby, I'm sorry. Really. I had to be sure in case something happened. I promise I won't say anything." Break said in a soft voice as he slowly inched closer to the upset girl. Ruby slowed her breathing to remain calm and not pay attention to the frightful memories. "Break? Last night... Why didn't you say anything?" Ruby asked quietly as the pain subsided and she turned to the man questionably. "Hmm... Maybe because there was something about you that seemed interesting. You're chain, Phoenix, said something that interested me. When you made your contract, you both gave each other your blood, but you had a cut on your hand, while he gave you his through a kiss. I thought you were an illegal contractor, so I informed Milady instead of my companion. You don't have an incuse-the illegal contractor seal-and you didn't seem to have no problem with low necklines since you don't have a seal." Break explained softly as he waited patiently for Ruby to relax more.

At that moment, Kisa entered the room with Akira following closely behind. "Akira said he wanted to talk to you about something. I also wanted to see how you were doing." Kisa said as she sat down beside Ruby sent her an apologetic look. Akira walked over to Ruby and sat in between her and Break, glaring at him angrily when he saw the tears that still remained in her eyes. "My head began to hurt and I felt scared. The only explanation is that something happened to Chris, and that you're responsible because you were the only ones in here." Akira growled and pulled out the letter Break gave him from his pocket. "Oh, you haven't opened it yet?" Break asked. Kisa looked from Ruby to Akira, and her eyes widened in realization. "You're a chain." She whispered. "He also happens to be Phoenix." Break added. Akira glanced at Ruby with a worried look in his eyes before he relaxed and turned to her fully, shocked when he saw the mark on her back. Again, he had seen her memories, including those that she had unknowingly locked away, so to see it up close like this would still shock him.

Kisa was also shocked, and looked to Akira when he started growling. "I'll _kill_ that man! I'll find him, torture him, then kill him." He growled. "So I guess you aren't just a distant relative. You are Chris." Kisa whispered. "I crawled out if my own grave. I feel like I know Justin more then he lets on. But he said he was human, of sounds off somehow." Ruby replied, not bothering to deny her blood relation now. Kisa quickly stood up and walked back to a stack of clothes, drawing her friends attention. "Last one. Try this." She said and shoved the clothes into Ruby's arms before dragging Break and Akira to wait on the other side of the screen. "Now Ruby, don't come out until you're done! I want to know how it looks." Kisa ordered and couldn't prevent the smile that grew on her lips. "Don't give me that look. Just wait, then I'm forcing her to get out more. She needs to explore Reveille. Maybe we can be neighbors!" Kisa said excitedly as Ruby stepped out from the screen, a nervous smile playing on her lips as she stood there.

**hello minna-San~ what do you think of this chapter? I'll update again soon 'k~ until next time~**


	10. Chapter 10

_Flashback_

Ruby glanced at the clothes Kisa had given her and sighed. She remembered wearing these clothes once before and felt nervous about wearing them again. Stepping out to see her friends, Kisa let out an excited-but quiet-squeal of excitement and jumped in place. Break and Akira were left speechless. Ruby was wearing a black tank top under a white long sleeved shirt buttoned halfway with the sleeves rolled up, a pleated black skirt, black tights, dark gray lace up boots, her choker, a bracelet with a star-like charm on her right wrist, and her hair clip on the left side of her head. "Hmm... Wait." Kisa said as she ran off again and returned with a dark blue zipless hoodie that reached her mid-thigh, it was lighter blue, almost white on the inside and had an arrow pointing upward in dark blue on the back. The arrow was mirrored on the inside as well and made her look mysterious. "There. Now you're done. What do you guys think?" Kisa asked Break and Akira, who were still not talking and staring at Ruby.

Feeling uncomfortable with the silence Ruby took off her hoodie hung it before turning back to the two. "You know it's rude to stare. Kisa, would you mind helping me pack? I'm thinking of staying with the Rainsworths' for a while like promised." Ruby stated as she and Kisa began packing for another month. Akira blinked and finally moved, going over to Ruby and leaning tiredly over her shoulder. "What are you doing?" Ruby asked curiously. "I'm tired. Too much excitement in one day." Akira replied, finally drawing Break's attention and watching him laugh behind his sleeve with Kisa. "How cute~. You seem to be almost as close as Justin, Akira." Kisa stated with a small laugh and watched as the boy shrugged his shoulders before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke and reappearing as a small, black puppy with a blue streak on his head, sitting adorably at Ruby's feet.

Looking up at her tiredly, Ruby's heart melted at Akira's new form and she scooped him up into her arms and hugged him carefully. "You're so cute! Akira~ you go ahead and take a nap if you want. But you'll miss out on all the fun." Ruby stated with a cheerful smile at Akira, making him wide awake at the words miss out and fun. When they walked back into Ruby's room an argument had ensued between Justin and Earnest. "Stop being so damn curious! If you keep prying into people's lives you'll meet your end faster!" Justin yelled angrily. "Be quiet! You're just a servant! You knew the mansion was here all these years and didn't say anything!" Earnest yelled back, a drawing of a smiling woman in his hand. "I swear, if you ask her anymore-" "Will you shut up! If I have questions, I'll get answers! Even if I have to resort to interrogation!" At that moment, Earnest took the drawing and tore it to shreds, earning a look of pure shock from everyone in the room. Justin turned when he noticed Ruby and saw her staring the paper on the floor. Sharon had her hands over her mouth in shock and watched as Ruby slowly walked over to Earnest, her eyes darkening with every step.

When she was directly on front of him, she raised her right arm and suddenly punched him the face. "That... Was a drawing of my mother... You inconsiderate bastard!" Ruby yelled, her voice rising when she spoke. She was absolutely livid. Kisa, Sharon, and Break winced at the hit, but Justin and Akira simply shrugged and muttered "idiot" under their breaths as Earnest took the brunt of her rage. "Get out." She said through clenched teeth as a threatening aura began to glow around her, and Earnest, though not one to set aside his pride, walked to the door and stood in the hall to Break, Justin, and Akira's prompting. Before this Elliot and Leo had gone to Ruby's library, and weren't aware of what was happening as the two were lost in books of adventure and history. Ruby picked up the torn picture and left it one her table before going back to her closet and set out her suitcase before lying on the bed tiredly. "We won't be here long, so you'd hold rest before we go." Ruby said as she stared at the ceiling from the end of her bed. Break left the room to explore the library as well and found Leo sitting by a bookshelf with Elliot at a nearby table.

Passing the two quietly, he picked up a black book with white writing he could not understand. When he opened the book, however, he became able to read it. 'Zanpakutō Spirits?' Break thought and began to read. Back in Ruby's room, Kisa was telling her about how she met Sharon and Break.

_ It was a bright sunny day. Break had been sent on a mission about strange tiger sightings. Apparently, whenever the tiger appeared, something went missing. Of course, Break set himself a time limit of two days and waited for the tiger to appear. He didn't have to wait long because five minutes after he left the inn he was staying at, the tiger appeared. It was a white Siberian Tiger, yet this one had green eyes that were bright with playfulness. The tiger then ran off in the direction of a house, people screaming about how the tiger was even scarier in daylight. Break followed after the tiger when he realized that the tiger stopped periodically to turn and look at him, then continue running. When the tiger jumped through a window, the townspeople began to panic and back away from the building, leaving Break to enter alone. What he saw didn't surprise him, but he was still taken aback by the sight before him._

_ A girl of about thirteen wearing a yellow dress with white frills, shoulder length brown hair and cheerful green eyes was playing with the tiger, who began to purr contently as she played with its fur. "Excuse me miss. Might I ask you your name? I am Xerxes Break from the Rainsworth dukedom. How would you like to come and meet the young mistress?" Break asked politely as the girl turned to him. Blinking she answered with a curious tone of voice. "My name is Kisa Gold, nice to meet you. This is Ariah. Everyone thinks that she's behind all the missing items, but she really gives them back after finding the real thieves. If I go, so does Ariah." Kisa stated as Ariah changed her size to a small kitten. Break cocked an eyebrow before nodding as though it were obvious and explained that he had to carry her out as everyone saw Ariah enter the building. Kisa agreed reluctantly and hid the now kitten Ariah in her coat that Break put on her before he carried her out. _

_Pretending to be asleep was easy for Kisa since she was a well known prankster, but not bad enough that the people would be angry at her. Seeing her "unconscious" body made them more angry at Ariah, but since they were leaving the tiger didn't care. When they returned to the Rainsworth mansion Sharon was indeed delighted to meet Kisa, and declared her to be her little sister. "Sharon?" Kisa asked curiously. Sharon turned to her with a cheerful smile while holding open a book she was showing her. "Yes, little Kisa?" She asked back. Kisa blushed slightly as she remembered that she was supposed to call Sharon "big sister". "Big sister Sharon? Do you like cake?" Kisa asked again. Sharon nodded happily and watched as Kisa pulled out a cake from the cabinet next to them and said "I snuck this here without Break noticing from the kitchen! Would you like some?" In a playful voice. Sharon laughed when Break ran in and saw the two eating the cake and slumped his shoulders in defeat._ Kisa smiled at the memory and laughed with Sharon, Justin, Akira, and Ruby while in the library, Break sneezed after putting his third book back on the shelf. "Ah, someone must be talking about me. Might be them, since I'm not in the room. Oh, well." Break muttered to himself and decided to make his way back to Ruby's room.


	11. Chapter 11

As Break left the library he tapped Elliot and Leo on the shoulder and told them they had to leave. Leo brought a rather thick book back to Ruby's room so he could read as they got ready to leave. Seeing the book, Ruby laughed quietly and told Leo that he could keep it until he finished it, which made the ravenette smile happily. Justin took Ruby's suitcase and took it to the carriage ahead of them, leaving his friends in an awkward and tense silence as they walked to the carriage. "What happened to Akira?" Elliot asked as they walked outside. Earnest turned a questioning glance toward Ruby, who shrugged nervously as she replied. "He said he had something to do in Reveille. He'll meet us at the mansion later." With that said, Break took the empty place beside Sharon, having decided to have the same seating arrangements as when they arrived. The ride back was relatively quiet and caused Ruby to fall asleep, Justin discreetly listening to her heartbeat from the other carriage to monitor her health. "Hey, Justin." Earnest said irritatedly. "What?" Justin replied in a bored attitude. "Stop listening to her heart. I bet you want her blood right about now, huh?" Earnest stated with a smirk.

Justin turned to him with serious eyes and glared at him, Elliot and Leo wishing they were in a different carriage. "If I bit her, the walls her mind built to protect her from a horrible pain and loss she witnessed would drive her insane. I have no intention of killing the girl I'm supposed to be watching over." Justin stated angrily and turned towards the window to watch the trees fly by. In truth, he did want to taste her blood once more, but knew he would hurt in more ways than one by simply taking her blood: Her memories would return too quickly, her powers would begin to rise-the spade seal he had placed was useless unless he could fix the seal on her charm bracelet. In the end, her inner hollow would rage out of control and kill anyone and anything within its sights after she gained a terrible fever.

That was something he couldn't allow to happen, as he would lose Ruby for good. _'As long as I don't taste blood, I'll be fine.'_ Justin thought and stared off into space the rest of the ride. As he was oblivious to the world outside the carriage, Justin missed the conversation coming from Break and Sharon's carriage. "I'm curious about how she made the contract without a blood mirror. Akira hasn't showed signs of craving meat yet, but I shall keep a close eye on them just in case." Break said as he stared at a sleeping Ruby across from him. Akira was curled up cutely on her lap and Kisa was sitting next to her, keeping her upright when they got a bump in the road.

"We promised not to inform Pandora or the four dukes. I feel bad talking about her when she's asleep and right here." Kisa said sadly as they passed another bump. "Then maybe you shouldn't bother thinking about it." A voice stated. The three contractors turned their attention to the puppy now lying awake on his own contractor's lap, eyeing them with guarded eyes. "I can see into people's memories and thoughts be making eye contact if I wish. Since you're now Chris' friends you must know that the man who killed her, those she ever cared about, and destroyed her home. He is not dead." Akira said in a cold voice as he manipulates the shadows and closed the curtains of their carriage.

"But the stories-" "The stories all end the same: their enemy vanished and remained dormant and silent after slaughtering the Natsudori family. If someone possesses so much as a _drop_ of the family's blood, he will return and kill them." Akira said seriously as he turned back to the three. Shocked into silence, Break, Sharon, and Kisa remained such until they finally reached the Rainsworth mansion. Upon entering a Pandora agent ran up to them with a panicked look on his face. "Lady Sharon! It's terrible! The Shadow Harpy was sighted at the opera house again!" He shouted, causing Justin, Ruby, and Akira to tense at the name as Break replied with his usual happy-go-lucky attitude. "Oh~? Was he now? How very interesting, quickly now before he gets away then~" As the agent ran off, Break turned to see an unfamiliar emotion appear in Ruby's eyes, and before they knew it, she took off in the direction of the opera house. Elliot, Leo, Kisa, and Akira ran after her with Justin, Earnest, Break, and Sharon following quickly. When they reached the opera house, Pandora agents were surrounding the building and keeping civilians away.

The doors burst open and a man dressed completely in black with white edges and a black cloak stepped outside. Taking one look at the man, Ruby stopped and stared in disbelief as everyone continued to call him the Shadow Harpy. "You people must be idiots." She stated incredulously and ignored the glares directed at her. Justin and Akira glanced at their friends to see Leo, Elliot, and Break simply stared at the man as a chain appeared from behind him. It was simple trump, easy to defeat. Ruby's covered her eyes as she explained why she thought the people in front of her were idiots. "The Shadow Harpy is a teenage girl. She wears black with silver accents, a black cape with no hood, and a black masquerade mask. There is a reason for the name Shadow Harpy: she appears solely at night. And most certainly does not possess a chain!" By the time she had finished a threatening aura had surrounded her.

"Hey, has he killed anyone?" She said deny asked. "Yes, he has. Forty-five people. All innocents." Kisa answered hesitantly and watched as Ruby walked through the Pandora agents and stood before the impersonator, Akira being engulfed by a cloud of black and reappearing as Phoenix, red violet flames appearing at the tips of his feathers. "Oho? Have you come to be killed little girl?" The man asked with an insane smile on his face. "No. Rather, it is _you_ who has come to die. Phoenix, destroy his chain." Ruby replied coldly as her eyes became darker until they were a deep red violet, almost amethyst color. "Gladly." Phoenix stated and sent flaming feathers at the trump until it was completely on fire, and watched in satisfaction as the trump disintegrated and the man fell back.

There was ultimate fear in his eyes as he stared into Ruby's red violet ones, his thoughts and memories flashing before the two and making the girl sick. Taking a step closer the Pandora agents finally began to move but were too slow as a black hole opened beneath the man and watched as he sank into the darkness of the Abyss. When the hole closed, Ruby looked into the opera house and walked inside, drawing her sword. Justin knew what she was going to do, as did Akira, but didn't stop Break as he rushed in after Ruby.

~Inside the opera house~

Break watched as Ruby approached a young girl of about twelve and kneeled in front of her. "Are you scared?" She asked, to which the girl nodded silently with unshod tears in her eyes. When Break stopped to stand next to her, he noticed a rather long silver chain on the little girl's chest, and immediately understood what Ruby was about to do. "It's dangerous for you to be here. I'm going to send you to a better place, the Soul Society, okay?" She explained reassuringly and tapped the pommel of her sword to the girl's forehead when she nodded. A light blue circle appeared beneath the girl and she breathed a sigh of relief at the comforting warmth she felt, disappearing and turning into a black and purple butterfly that flew into a glowing orb of light that appeared in the palm of Ruby's hand and faded. "So that is how a Konso is done." Break stated quietly.

Ruby nodded and stood, but when she did, a sharp pain flared to life in her body and she collapsed to both knees coughing violently into her right hand while keeping herself upright with her left. Slightly panicked, Break dropped to the ground beside the fallen girl and took her sword, which had changed back into a hair clip, and caught Ruby as she fell forward, blood dripping down the side of her mouth. Break inhaled sharply and carried Ruby bridal style outside quickly, ignoring the agents that questioned him and demanded that he hand the unconscious girl over.

Sharon and Kisa ran over to him and gasped at the blood in Ruby's hand before using Eques, Sharon's chain, to return to the mansion. Akira-now in his human form-ran after Break and Justin as they placed her in one of the guest rooms and returned to everyone in the parlor, Akira staying behind to rest as well. Upon entering, the two were bombarded with questions. "Is she okay?" "What happened in opera house?" "Why was there blood on her hand?" "BREAK?!" "Enough!" Break shouted, his composure slipping in the now shocked into silence room before sitting down at the table and eating a cake tiredly. Justin sat down on the couch and sighed in exhaustion. As Break was about to answer the questions, a door appeared on the wall and opened to reveal a girl of about sixteen with waist length blonde hair and dark orange eyes. She was wearing a light orange T-shirt, light blue skinny jeans, brown belt, and black converse.

She had orange stud earrings, a golden yellow crystal on a thin silver chain around her neck, a silver bird shaped ring with a yellow eye on her right middle finger, and a black and green wristband on her left wrist. "Eevee...!" Justin gasped in shock as he locked eyes with his long time friend. "Hey Justin. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" Eevee asked with a bright smile as entered the room. "Hello everyone. My name is Eevee Haruneko. Or, so I've been told you know, Eevee Spring. It is a pleasure to meet you." Eevee introduced herself and smirked at the gasps she received in return. "The Eevee Spring? One of the people who were killed three thousand years ago?" Elliot asked in shock.

"I'd rather not be reminded of that, please. In the case that I am here, it has come to our attention that Chr-Ruby-a Miss Ruby Wolfe summoned the power to send souls to the afterlife an hour ago. I have been sent to check her health, as it has not been the best when she was younger. Would you be so kind as to show me where her room is?" Eevee explained patiently and followed Break as he lead the way, everyone following behind to know what happened. Akira opened the door and was surprised to see Eevee standing there before allowing her into the room, along with everyone had followed but more warily.


	12. Chapter 12

_"Shirador_i"

Eevee entered Ruby's room after Akira stepped aside from opening the door. Break and Justin followed by the others entered the too a well, though kept a safe distance. Eevee approached the sleeping Ruby and sat down on the beside her, placing her hand on the girl's forehead and closing her eyes as a soft green light appeared around her hand. Ruby's eyed snapped open and abruptly changed to very bright, glowing red violet eyes with black sclera, her hair turning snow white in the process. Eevee quickly stepped back and watched as Ruby sat up and stretched before turning towards her. "Hello, Eevee Spring. What brings you to visit in such a time when I get to play?" Ruby's voice became slightly higher and sounded as if several people were talking at the same time. "Shiradori. I suppose it's slightly a good thing you're still there. What are you doing?" Eevee asked suspiciously. Shiradori laughed and gave one of her large grins as she replied. _"I wanted to take over for a while until she wakes up. Don't worry I won't kill anyone. Without reason."_ She added carelessly and threw the blanket off to stand. Justin and Akira weren't dazed by her sudden change, however, Break and the others were. When they saw her eyes, a collective gasp rang through them as Shira/Ruby walked to the closet, complaining the entire time that Ruby had no style with her mind in chaos and pulled out specific clothes.

Sharon, using Eques, force the boys back into the hallway, overlooking that Akira had turned into a dog again and was hiding under the blanket trying to avoid her to take a nap. Kisa looked over to Shira/Ruby and inhaled sharply at the sight of her back once again. The scar was quite big and made so that one wing reached to an inch or two beneath the back of her neck while the other stopped at her lower back. The black bra she wore contrasted with her now white hair as she pulled on a white V-neck shirt with rolled up sleeves, a black midriff shirt with off the shoulder sleeves, white skinny jeans, black belt, and white knee high boots with a two inch heel and black laces. Shiradori appeared to be exactly like Ruby but inverted in color. _"Let's go for a walk. Ruby'll heal at the same time I'm out."_ Shira stated as she scooped Akira into her arms and threw the door open with an excited grin. Break continued to stare at Shira when she exited the room and turned to the boys, letting Akira jump onto the floor and turn back to his human form. _"Hey. My name is Shiradori Kage. Or for you, Shadow or Shira will work just fine." _Shiradori said with a slight mocking bow. "Who are you Shiradori?" Break asked even though he knew the answer._ "I am quite literally a of Ruby's soul. Her true instincts. Queen is restin' right now, so I get to look around. Though it's no fun when she doesn't fight back."_ Shiradori grabbed Justin by the arm and began dragging him towards the window.

"Oi, Shiradori, what are you doing?" Justin asked slightly nervous as Shira opened the window. "Hold on, you wouldn't dare! Hey! Shira!" Justin yelled as she threw him outside and turned to Break quickly, grabbing his arm as well, but instead of throwing him, she reached into his jacket and pulled out Ruby's hair clip. _"Thank you for holding on to this, Xerxes Break. So many problems can arise if it were in the wrong hands."_ Shira stated while leaning in to Break slightly with a psychotic smile and half lidded eyes before turning and jumping out the window. Akira slowly walked up to Break and saw that he was truly in shock, and saw through his eye that he never showed annoyance or shock at all. He to jumped out the window and began to watch the fight between Justin and his master's hollow. Elliot snapped Break back into reality by poking his arm and bumped into Leo with a startled yell as Break suddenly jumped outside. Earnest, Elliot, Leo, Sharon, and Kisa watched in shock as Eevee laughed at them before she too left, causing them to run outside the door and watch Shira fight Justin. "Oh com on! Fight me already, Cruz!" Shira yelled in annoyance as Eevee, Break, and Akira stopped the group and bade them to watch.

_"Tch!"_ Shira growled through clenched teeth and grabbed Justin's tie, throwing him halfway across the grounds. _"Weak..._" She growled. _"Why aren't you fighting me?"_ Justin stood as she demanded, panting slightly at having hit the ground so many times already. "What are you talking about?" Justin called innocently, making Shira growl even more. _"If you won't move, I will. Bankai!"_ Shiradori was surrounded on all sides by raging winds and disappeared from view. When the wind died down, Shiradori was wearing different clothes. She was now wearing an open white jacket with a black ace of spades on the sleeve of her right arm and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a black midriff top, white short shorts with a black belt, black tights, white boots with three inch heels, and a white masquerade mask with purple blue designs. The ribbon of the rise choker was now blue but the rose stayed the same, a silver chain necklace with a green crystal was around her neck, a silver bird shaped ring with a green eye on the middle finger of her right hand, a black and blue wristband on her left wrist, and black fingerless gloves. Her sword had become a large, completely silver scythe with vine-like patterns on the staff, at the top was a sphere with blades that resembled the hair clip.

On one side, a wing had curved and become three separate blades, the other wing had become one long, curved blade that reflected the sunlight. There were elegant and strange engravings on the blades that seemed almost other worldly. On the bottom of the staff, a pointed half diamond was lightly stabbed into the ground, a line, practically invisible to the untrained eye, could be seen on the staff where Shira held the scythe. The contractors and their friends stared in shock. If they had not known Ruby was human, they would have thought she was a chain. Earnest's eyes widened as he saw a blue symbol on Ruby's waist when the jacket was blown aside slightly by the wind. "A blue ace of spades on the right of her waist?" He muttered, thinking it over. Kisa began to get worried, Shira had taken over Ruby and Elliot and Leo were trying to find a way to stop her.

"That's your resurrección! I thought you said Bankai!" Justin called to Shira, who was grinning madly again. _"Sorry, I didn't want to use it. Now with the time I have left to fight you, I'll make you fall to your knees!"_ She exclaimed and swung her scythe at Justin. Before the blade met its mark however, a blue shield appeared in front of Justin, along with a Siberian white tiger. Kisa stood next to Sharon and called out to Ruby. "Ruby! Don't let Shiradori control you! Wake up!" She yelled, and was met with amused red violet eyes as Break activated his magic circle on the ground, trapping Shira and preventing her from moving. _"What?!"_ Shira gasped her eyes widening. Shira, frozen in place, fell to the ground as a gunshot rang in the air, a bullet hitting her in the side just as Ruby was waking up from her rest.


	13. Chapter 13

Just as Shira was about to switch places with Ruby, a bullet hit her in the side and, due to the magic circle, caused her to collapse. A Pandora agent stood next to Break holding a gun, fear in his eyes of the girl that now lay bleeding on the ground. Break quickly deactivated the circle and Kisa ran up to Ruby, Ariah getting to her first. She held her paw over the gunshot wound and hesitated. She couldn't continue with the bullet still in her side.

Suddenly, a girl with long blonde hair in low pigtails wearing a green kimono top, dark blue pants that stopped at her knees, and black heeled sandals appeared by Ruby with a worried look in her brown eyes. The girl bent down and examined Ruby's side, a frown appearing on her face as she looked to the Pandora agent who had shot her. "Kuro, deal with that man." She said calmly and began to carefully remove the bullet, not sparing a glance to the people behind her. "With pleasure." A male voice answered and a black tiger with white stripes and dragon-like wings appeared in front of her.

The Pandora agent was frozen with fear as he stared at the black tiger that charged towards him. Recognizing the girl, Justin leapt in front of the agent and stopped the black tiger. "It's been awhile, Tsunade. I wish we could have met again on better terms." He called to the girl, who looked over her shoulder and glared at him. "Indeed. Your friend here is healing exceptionally fast. I just removed the bullet and the wound is already disappearing. How dare you let her get shot!" She called angrily.

"I know. I've been careless this past month, I'm afraid that I'm hurting her more mentally and emotionally than before." Justin replied as he sent Eevee an apologizing glance, understanding of her anger as well for letting Ruby get shot. After all, it was still her body, whether or not Shiradori was in control. Kuro flew passed Justin and attacked the agent, sinking his teeth into the man's arm and biting until he dropped his gun and fell to his knees in pain.

"We'll go now, then. But I want to be properly introduced when she wakes up. Until then, don't bother calling. Bye." Tsunade stated before she and Kuro disappeared in a cloud of shadow. Eevee ran to Ruby and checked her bullet wound which, was indeed, healing fast. Inhumanly fast. Cursing, she picked her up carefully and jumped to the window, glaring at everyone before disappearing into the room. Guilt flooded Break's senses. If he hadn't tried to stop Shiradori, Ruby wouldn't have gotten shot. Turning to the fallen Pandora agent, Break motioned for two more men to escort him back inside to be treated before leaving and made his way to Ruby's room.

**Hey everyone. I'm sorry this chapter is so short and that I haven't updated this for awhile. I'll try to make the next chapter a little longer. Please feel free to leave comments or reviews if you want. Until then, read and enjoy~**


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